Give Me an Ar, give Me an N! Arylation of the methyl group in a simple derivative of readily available alanine under palladium catalysis was followed by intramolecular amidation at the same position to give chiral α-amino-β-lactams with a wide range of aryl substituents (see scheme; Phth=phthaloyl). The α-amino-β-lactams were obtained in moderate to high yields with good functional-group tolerance and high diastereoselectivity.

The Pd(II)-catalyzed alkoxylation of unactivated C(sp 3 )-H and C(sp 2 )-H bonds using a new bidentate directing group has been developed. Alkoxylation occurs selectively at the b position with broad substrate scope and high tolerance of functional groups (chloro, cyano, ether, ester, olefin, amino, etc.). Besides alkoxylation of the b-C-H bonds, g-alkoxylation of C(sp 2 )-H bonds could also be achieved, provided that no reactive b-C-H bonds were present. In addition, this DG is readily available and removable.Scheme 1 Pd-catalyzed direct alkoxylation of C-H bonds.

A copper-mediated C-S/N-S bond-forming reaction via C-H activation that uses elemental sulfur has been developed. The addition of TBAI was found to be crucial for the success of this transformation. The method is scalable, shows excellent functional group tolerance, and is compatible with heterocycle substrates, providing efficient and practical access to benzoisothiazolones. The direct diversification of the benzoisothiazolone products into a variety of sulfur-containing compounds is also demonstrated.

A copper-mediated C-H hydroxylation of arenes and heteroarenes using our newly developed PIP directing group has been developed. This procedure is scalable and compatible with a wide range of functional groups and heteroarenes, providing an operationally simple protocol for the synthesis of o-hydroxybenzamides. The hydroxylation of nicotinamides gave 4-oxo-1,4-dihydropyridine-3-carboxamides selectively. Preliminary mechanistic studies implicate that a basic ligand-enabled, irreversible, rate-determining CMD step is most likely involved in this process.

A copper/silver-mediated arylation of (hetero)aryl C-H bonds with 2-thiophenecarboxylic acids has been achieved. The protocol features a broad substrate scope and high functional group tolerance. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that a cascade protodecarboxylation/dehydrogenative coupling process is likely involved.